Thailand’s new coalition govt must prove its worth: Abhisit

The government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will likely be in power until the end of its tenure, about three years left, as none of the coalition parties appears to be ready for an early general election, according to former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Mr Abhisit said these parties are still struggling to prove to their voters that they deserve to be elected again.

The weak point of this new coalition, however, is the already decreased faith which the public now has in the Pheu Thai Party-led government, which could be exacerbated by any new negative developments, including misconduct, and become a full-blown crisis, said the former Democrat Party leader.

Asked whether it is possible that Ms Paetongtarn could be ousted in a military coup just like her father, Thaksin, and aunt, Yingluck, Mr Abhisit said the fact that Ms Paetongtarn is the third prime minister from the Shinawatra family may not be a reason to justify a coup, but how she leads the government may be.

“None of us wants to see that problem [of a government being ousted in a coup] again,” he said. “So, if this government could resolve the country’s problems in a morally right way, all sides should be happy.”

Despite having been a rival of the Pheu Thai Party for a long time, Mr Abhisit said he had admitted on various occasions that Pheu Thai did succeed in certain things.

These successes should have been adopted as the party’s core policies for its own development, he added.

“It’s a shame that [Pheu Thai members] failed to build on their previous achievements so as to drive their party forward,” he said. “Worse still, they still couldn’t even shake off the [Shinawatra] influence.”

On the one hand, Thaksin’s influence on the Pheu Thai-led government may help raise confidence among those who believe in Thaksin’s abilities and experience, he said. On the other, the risk of Thaksin repeating the same mistakes he made in power, which ended up costing his career, is still there, he said.

“So, if Thaksin hasn’t learnt from his past mistakes at all, there is the risk that history will repeat itself,” he said.

Thawisan Lonanurak, an independent academic and former secretary-general of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, pointed to some key challenges now facing the country’s 31st prime minister.

The scrutinising of the 36 new cabinet ministers is likely to take longer than Pheu Thai and Ms Paetongtarn now expect because if only one new minister is later found to be ineligible, the new PM’s fate may become uncertain.

Former prime minister Srettha Thavisin was removed from office in a Constitutional Court ruling which found him guilty of committing a serious ethics violation after he appointed ex-convict Pichit Chuenban as a PM’s Office minister.

The Council of State and the Secretariat of the Cabinet must be extra careful this time, said Mr Thawisan.

The overall quality of these prospective cabinet ministers wasn’t impressive either, he said, adding they are being given their job because their parties have a cabinet quota for them, not because they truly are suitable for their positions, he said.

“An academic is made agriculture and cooperatives minister, while a policeman is picked to oversee education administration, which are just wrong and make people feel hopeless,” he said.

The fact that a faction in a political party is allowed to join the new coalition in disregard of the party’s resolution, which didn’t allow it to, will undermine the importance and strength of such a party as an institution, he said.

In the future, more factions will follow suit, competing to broker a deal with MPs in other parties to secure a better chance to be given a cabinet seat, while ignoring their party’s resolution, he said.

The new government’s performance will be the main factor to determine not only whether the coalition will be able to finish its remaining term but also Pheu Thai’s chance to win the next national election, said Stithorn Thananithichot, the director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok’s Institute.

“If the country’s economy isn’t improving at all by the end of this year, the new government could be short-lived,” he said.

Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the disgruntled leader of Palang Pracharath Party, which has been axed from the new government, might not become a problem to the government any time soon, he said.

However, if the Paetongtarn administration ever fails to improve its performance, the PM might find herself encountering a series of cases which could jeopardise her career, said Mr Stithorn, adding Gen Prawit still has a chance to turn the tables on her.

Source – Bangkok News